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E112
December 23, 2025
Leaving Her Dream Job for Menopause Advocacy: Tamsen Fadal on HRT & Purpose After 50
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What happens when a news anchor loses her words on live television and discovers it's not stress, but menopause? Emmy Award-winning journalist Tamsen Fadal joins Dr. Mary Claire Haver to share why she walked away from her dream job in pursuit of changing the conversation around women's health, the powerful story behind her New York Times bestselling book How to Menopause, and her groundbreaking PBS documentary The M Factor.

Tamsen spent 30 years in broadcast journalism without saying the word "menopause" on air—not once. Then perimenopause hit. Brain fog made her skip words on the teleprompter. A hot flash so severe during a live newscast left her sweating and pale, eventually forcing her off the set entirely. Despite erratic bleeding, insomnia, and mounting symptoms, doctor after doctor missed the diagnosis.

But once she understood what was happening, she couldn't stop talking about it. She co-produced The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause with three other women, self-funding the documentary after she was told there was no audience. The trailer went viral. PBS picked it up. Over 1,000 community screenings followed in 43 countries.

Dr. Haver and Tamsen reflect on their first meeting at a menopause conference, the moment they both realized how little training doctors receive, and why this work feels like a calling.

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Chapters

00:00:00 — Sponsors + cold open: why menopause stories feel “vulnerable”
00:02:43 — Disclaimer + intro: who Tamsen Fadal is (and why she matters)
00:05:02 — Tamsen’s on-air wake-up call: brain fog, panic, “what is happening?”
00:07:34 — The missed years: bleeding, sleep issues, and nobody saying “perimenopause”
00:09:40 — Finally hearing “menopause” + the fear/identity spiral
00:13:05 — Her mom’s breast cancer + why hormone therapy felt terrifying
00:16:28 — What changed: finding the right clinician + re-learning the WHI narrative
00:21:36 — Media ageism: the “shelf life” for women and saying “menopause” on air
00:24:59 — Sponsor break: MIDI + OneSkin (mid-episode ads)
00:28:00 — The M Factor: building a documentary from scratch (pushback → momentum)
00:32:18 — PBS launch + why some people weren’t happy (and why she’s okay with that)
00:36:39 — The next film: Before the Pause + “hormonal households” & millennials
00:41:34 — Sponsor break: Alma + 1-800 Contacts
00:44:40 — Writing How to Menopause: rejection, finding believers, building the book
00:48:08 — NYT bestseller moments + what “the list” really means
00:56:04 — MIDI Pause: menopause sleep crisis + real solutions
00:58:16 — Purpose after loss: aging, community, and choosing the next chapter
01:05:04 — What she’d tell her younger self + how the conversation is shifting
01:10:25 — Unpausing: freedom, travel, and closing thoughts / where to follow

About the guest

Tamsen Fadal

Tamsen Fadal is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer of the globally recognized menopause documentary The (M) Factor, and the New York Times bestselling author of How To Menopause. As the host of The Tamsen Show podcast and founder of Tamsen Fadal Media, she leads national conversations around midlife, menopause, and reinvention, reaching over 4 million across platforms. As a trusted media voice and keynote speaker, she advises global companies on women’s health equity and workplace wellness. She is also an investor in wellness brands and serves on the Board of Advisors for Let’s Talk Menopause.